Pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean: an epidemiological overview.

Objective: To describe epidemiological trends of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) in the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean during the pandemic period.

Design And Methods: Data on laboratory-confirmed cases and deaths associated with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) contained in two regional databases at the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) were analysed. The data sources were epidemiological and laboratory reports from English and Dutch-speaking countries and the CAREC laboratory information system (LABIS).

Distribution of influenza and other acute respiratory viruses during the first year after the 2009-2010 influenza pandemic in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries.

Background: Limited specimen collection and testing for influenza occurred in the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries prior to the 2009/2010 influenza pandemic. Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) member countries rapidly mobilized to collect specimens during the pandemic and a vast majority of confirmed cases during the pandemic period were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09.

Objectives: To describe the aetiology and distribution of acute respiratory illness (ARI) among laboratory confirmed cases during the first year after the 2009/2010 influenza pandemic in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.

Evidence on delay in sexual initiation, multiple partnerships and condom use among young people: review of Caribbean HIV behavioural studies.

Objective: To develop a Caribbean regional profile of youth sexual behaviour associated with risk of HIV.

Design And Methods: A review of sexual behaviour surveys with youth aged 15-24 years was conducted as part of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) HIV Caribbean Office's Review and Gender Analysis of Caribbean HIV Behavioural and Seroprevalence Studies. Studies with internationally recommended indicators were prioritized.

Cricket World Cup: a stress test for the surveillance system in the Caribbean.

Objective: To describe the development and implementation of and major findings and recommendations from, a regional mass gathering surveillance system (MGSS) in support of the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007.

Methods: The regional MGSS was developed by the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and its member countries as an adaptation of the routine communicable disease surveillance system in order to rapidly detect unusual disease events during the tournament. The implementation of the MGSS required the identification of additional human and financial resources, capacity building activities, laboratory strengthening, and improved global epidemic surveillance and communication mechanisms.

Human papillomavirus genotypes and their prevalence in a cohort of women in Trinidad.

Objective: Human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes and their relative prevalences were determined in a cohort of 310 sexually active women in Trinidad, West Indies.

Methods: Cervical samples were collected with Ayre's spatulas and endocervical brushes. Samples were used for the conventional Papanicolaou test and for determining HPV genotypes by amplification of a section of the viral L1 gene, followed by DNA sequencing and probe hybridization.